By Shereen Siewert
The Wausau Police Department will formally ask city officials to accept funding already awarded for two harm reduction vending machines, which are seeing increased acceptance nationwide in the fight against opioid deaths.
In a memo to city officials, Wausau Police Capt. Melinda Pauls said the community experienced 36 reported drug-related overdoses in 2022 including nine fatalities. Already in 2023, eight overdoses have resulted in three deaths related to drugs, she said.
Pauls said the machines “act as a safe haven for people to obtain no cost, stigma free preventative health and wellness services.” The goal, she said, is to reduce deaths by increasing low barrier access to public health supplies in the community.
A growing number of cities and local governments are making so-called “harm reduction” items more readily available to help reduce the number of overdoses and overdose deaths. The machines are stocked with items like naloxone — a drug which can reverse overdoses, fentanyl test strips, hygiene kits and safe sex kits.
Interest in the approach is expected to grow after U.S. regulators recently approved Narcan, the leading naloxone brand, to be sold without a prescription. That switch allows the nasal spray to be stocked in convenience stores, supermarkets and vending machines.
The matter will come before the Finance Committee on Tuesday. The Wausau Police Department was awarded $80,000 in Opioid Settlement Funding to install and maintain the two proposed machines, which will be a first for the city.
Partnerships have already been established with Community Partners Campus and Healthfirst Network for locations of the PHVMs. The Marathon County Health Department will partner in the acquisition and stocking of supplies.
Similar machines in the United States, Europe, and Australia have demonstrated success at reducing rates of overdose and infectious disease.
The Finance Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 407 Grant St., Wausau. The measure will require full council approval.
